The Occult | Period 1 | Tuesday

[thepaledreamer.livejournal.com]

"Today," Paige said once everyone had filtered in, "we're going to talk about something that is very prevalent in my world. Tarot."

They were in the Danger Shop to make this easier since she very well could not read Tarot cards. She held up a stack of tarot cards for the class to see. "In my world, these would be classified as something called numen, which basically means the object is used by people to connect to the aether. Specifically, soothsayers use different objects to establish that connection. Cards are just one thing they might use and those that use cards are called cartomancers. And, as some of you might know, tarot cards have been labeled as being used to predict the future. Now, how much of that is true is a matter of opinion."

Paige took a few cards and held them up, just giving the class a view of some of the illustrations and names. "Tarot cards are not actually about telling your fortune or future. The most powerful sources of information comes from within; the Tarot aids in coming in contacts with one's Higher self. There are generally two types of Tarot readings: question and open. What they are is obvious: the Tarot reading for a question focuses on one specific thing the person wants to know and an open reading addresses the larger aspect of a person's life. There is no definitive Tarot deck. They differ widely. Most decks will contain Minor Arcana and Major Arcana which will, in itself, contain four suits: wands, swords, cups, and circles or pentacles."

She placed the deck down on her desk and took a moment to remember Liss. "It might not sound exciting but some people consider Tarot a way of life and take what the cards say very seriously. So, today we're going to see what the cards say about each of you. It's an open reading so keep an open mind. If you don't believe, you don't believe but please don't rain on anyone else's parade."

With that said, she got the simulation going and nodded at the first student to get their reading.

Library, Tuesday

[faithandscience.livejournal.com]

When William entered the library today, he was confronted by... ducks.

Yes, ducks.

Although not the actual, live, feathery ducks. The rubber kind.

Still quacked, though. And there were dozens of them, roving the library in orderly little lines.

Making Friends and Influencing People [Tuesday, January 21, 2014]

[sith_happened]

"Last week we learned that both sides of a disagreement might not be negotiating in good faith," Anakin said as he paced around a narrow conference room decorated with a wooden table, some chairs and two flags. Each side of the table was guarded by soldiers in different uniforms and there was a concrete line on the floor that the table straddled precisely. "We also learned that the Trade Federation was run by a bunch of dicks."

Thank you, Anakin.

"This is a recreation of a negotiation table a little closer to home," he said, gesturing to the room. "Panmunjon, Korea. Here is where the treaty ending the Korean War was signed, and here is where North Korea comes to negotiate with the United Nations Command Force. You'd think this would be a place of great decorum." Anakin rolled his eyes. "Not so. The South Koreans--" he pointed to one soldier, "--make sure that the guards they send to stand at this table are at least 5'8" and hold a black belt in karate. This makes the guards two inches taller on average than their countrymen. Americans who work here are at least six feet tall. The North Koreans send their least starved soldiers. Appearances here are everything. For one series of negotiations, the North Koreans sawed the opposition's chair legs shorter so that the South Korean side looked ridiculous. In another incident, the North Koreans brought AK-47s under their clothing--a clear breach of protocol. Instead of confronting them directly, the Americans cranked up the heat so that the North Koreans sweated through their uniforms that they refused to remove because then they'd show their weapons. A series of negotiations were conducted to determine the size of the flags on this table because one side brought one that was slightly bigger, then the other side retaliated, and soon they couldn't fit through the door." He blew out a breath. "Negotiations can be mind numbingly stupid to the point where you look forward to them trying to knock you out with gas. Today I want you to explore this room--don't go out that door into fake North Korea or the guard will be happy to shoot you and you'll be unconscious for the rest of the period--and then come up with two juvenile ways to make another side look stupid at a negotiation table without it being something so terrible they would refuse to come back to the table and start a war with you over it."

Handling Your Powers, Tuesday

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan put the students through the physical and mental exercises first this week - he had a feeling it might put them in a better state of mind. When the session was over, he motioned for everyone to sit down again.

"A lot of you have talked about fearing your own emotions," he said, "Especially anger. So... I thought this week, we'd talk about that. Anger. It's... anger is a reaction to something, a secondary emotion that usually covers for something else... often fear. It's nature's way of making sure we can deal with threats to our lives, by knowing when to lash out, when to mass our power and strike. Unfortunately, these days, we don't always need it as much-- and when you're already powerful, it can be an enormous problem."

To put it mildly. Cough.

"People usually recognize three types of ways of dealing with anger. You express it, you suppress it, or you calm it. Now expressing doesn't have to mean you lash out at anybody, it can just mean... letting someone know that what they did made you feel hurt or afraid." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Usually, that's the most productive way of dealing with it, but it's not always the easiest. Suppressing your anger is also an option-- turning it into something you can use, something constructive, by pouring it into something else. The problem with that is... suppressed anger can turn inwards. It'll stew and grow bigger, until you lash out at someone, be it someone else or yourself. It can make you permanently hostile or passive-aggressive or hyper-critical."

"Finally, calming. That's when you don't just talk yourself out of expressing your anger physically, but you try to contain the feelings themselves by lowering your heart-rate and letting the anger go." He leaned back. "None of these approaches are ideal. Each one has their own problems. I've used all three before; it just depends on the situation. Usually, though, when all three fail-- that's when you let rip and something goes wrong."

Shepard and the crew had been least appreciative of Kaidan's brief forages into being snippy and passive-aggressive, funnily enough.

"Some of the techniques we've been going through with the meditation... that fits in with the calming end," he said. "You can also try counting to ten, repeat a mantra or picture something that calms you down. You can also try changing the way you're thinking about what makes you angry. Ask yourself questions. Try to point out to yourself where you aren't being rational. Try to avoid thinking of whatever you're not getting in terms of demands. Think of it as something you'd like to have instead. Or crack jokes. Jokes... sometimes help."

He took a deep breath.

"Anyway, these are just suggestions," he said. "If you're afraid of your own extreme emotions, you have to sit down and draw up a plan that works for you. Try a couple of things, see what works best."

Literature- Wednesday- 2nd period

[puppyinacup.livejournal.com]

Guess what, guys! No weird outfits from Jess this week. If you were gonna look at her funny, it'd just have to be over something she said.

"I'd like you all to start by passing up your book reports," she said, standing at the front to collect them. "As first books of the semester go, it's not too terrible, right? And then I just want to get an idea of what you thought of it. And at the end of class you're gonna pick up your copy of the meta for Moby Dick don't say it whatever joke is going through your mind right now don't say it."